The Partner in the Pond
by AmyLeeWarren
Summary: During a spring heatwave- a body is found in a field of daffodils. To solve the case, Brennan and Booth must bury every feeling to stop themselves from catching fire. BxB
1. Chapter 1

**Right- well I promised myself I wouldn't do this, but this might be a little long. I tried to set it out like a case, and reviews would be greatly appreciated. ;)  
**

**Disclaimer- I don't own anything. Shame really. **

**A/N- Some swearing. **

**Summary- During a spring heatwave, a woman's body is found in a pond in a field of daffodils. To solve the case, Booth and Brennan must bury every feeling to stop themselves from catching fire.  
**

**The Partner in the Pond**

Chapter One

"In a pond? Should I call Hodgins now?" Brennan laughed.

"Might be worth it." Booth said distractedly. He rounded the black SUV through a corner in a small town in Maryland, landing in the middle of a traffic jam.

"Shit." He slammed the steering wheel with a fist, causing Brennan to jump slightly.

"You okay?" She turned to face him slightly, turning down the air conditioning, that was blasting cold air into their faces.

On an abnormally hot spring day in April, with cloudless skies, a blazing sun, and lawn upon lawn blanketed with daffodils, it hardly seemed like a good day for a road trip to her. She rolled down her window, attempting to taunt a non-existent breeze. They had peeled off their jackets long ago, as he sat in his shirt, and she in a camisole, she couldn't help but notice the small beads of sweat forming on his furrowed brow.

"You've been quiet since breakfast. Is it about this case?"

"I'm fine." He said through clenched teeth.

"Booth-" She pointed to his hands on the steering wheel, "-you're knuckles are white. Indicating a very tight grip." She paused, studying his features. "You're annoyed at me, aren't you? Is this about what I said about pie?"

He laughed grimly, and she smiled.

"No." He turned and shot her a half-hearted charm smile.

"Then what's wrong?"

"Oh! Look at that!" His head was facing the road once again, as he floored the gas. "Traffic's cleared."

They drove in a rather thick silence, the light buzz of the engine audible through the open windows. Occasional cars sped past, bringing a burst of air that ruffled her hair around her face. Brennan watched out the window, naming the flowers she saw in each perfectly gardened lawn. Booth glanced away from the road for a moment, and caught a glimpse of his partner. Her eyes were closed for a moment, her head tilted up to welcome a small breeze. Her hair was messy, skin aglow.

Despite everything- he couldn't help but grin to see her that way.

"Watch the road Booth." she said, not moving- one azure eye open, watching him.

"I am."

He turned back, and cursed the feeling of a small flush in his cheeks.

* * *

"I guess this is it." She said after a few minutes, as Booth parked next to a Crime Scene Unit van. Reporters swarmed around, being controlled by rather burly looking local officers.

"What's with all the publicity?" Brennan asked, as Booth pulled a pad from his jacket, and helped her into her jumpsuit. She swatted his hand away, before loosing her balance without his support. She stumbled slightly, and he caught her arm.

"It's a National Park, Bones." He laughed.

"We've found bodies in National Parks before." She said quizzically, clipping on her belt, and immediately regretting it. She could feel sweat dot her back, and congregate around her camisole.

"Fine." He held up his hands in defeat, before pulling up the yellow tape to grant them access to the scene. "I have _no _idea what's-"

Both of them stopped in their tracks, startled.

They were met by what seemed a sea of daffodils. No paths were marked, and it seemed that the investigators had to trample flowers to make one. In the middle, was a pond, the sparkling water steaming in the heat.

"Wow." He stammered. "That's- a lot of flowers."

"They're planted here for a reason Booth." She recovered. "This can't be good for your allergies."

He groaned in agreement as he felt a sneeze burn his eyes.

"Dr Brennan! Agent Booth, over here." An officer called from their left. He waved them over to a shallow part of the pond, where a corpse had been dredged up with a net.

"Who found the body?" Booth asked.

"Local kid. He's over there." The officer motioned over to a crowd, while Brennan squatted by the remains.

"Female." She sniffed. "Thirties. Nasal suture indicates Caucasian."

"Cause of death?" Booth asked, between scribbles, and sneezes.

"Benedryl." The officer said, and the partners turned to him in question, squinting in the sun.

"It''s an allergy thing. Medicine? No?" He stammered as Brennan glared. "I'll be over here."

The officer bolted and the partners scoffed.

"Seriously. Cause of death?"

Brennan fingered away a shred of flesh, releasing a rather vile smell from the body. Booth gagged audibly.

"I concur." She muttered. "Seems to be some damage to her ribs and clavicle."

She reached into the body, her movement accompanied by a rather loud squelch. Booth gagged again.

"Okay- I'd rather sneeze." Booth said in disgust, Brennan chuckled in response, extracting her hand, laden with decomposing flesh and a small, dainty gold locket, with a small lily engraved on the front. She lifted it into the light, before slipping open the locket.

"Looks like there was a picture in here. It's too damaged. Angela can look at it- see what she can recover."

After a moment- she stood up with a huff.

"We're done here." She called out to the techs- "I want the pond drained, and everything shipped to the Jeffersonian. Search the surrounding ground, 100 yard radius. Send samples to Dr. Hodgins." She turned back to Booth, who stood, cocking an eyebrow at her. "Let's go." She smiled.

"Sure thing."

* * *

She began to unzip her jumpsuit, walking to the car, but Booth hung back, grabbing the arm of a tech scuttling about.

"Can I see that locket?" He asked, in a hushed tone. It was handed over without a word.

He lifted it into the sunlight, fingering the evidence bag gently to get a better look.

"Shit."

**It's a bit confusing just now- but if you think I should continue, please drop me a review. :)**


	2. Chapter 2

**Thank you to everyone who reviewed on my first chapter- I was quite surprised by the response. **

**So- thanks to sbfisher, .135, crossMyheartHope2Spy, mustanggirlz07, doctorsuez, standing-in-the-doorway, Fanpire88, bones83, crazycamera, Officer Rabbit, Gaia 469 csimesser1, ****gymcatgrl** **and** **Bonesxo. Sorry if I missed anyone. :)**

**For Disclaimer and Summary- see Chapter One. **

**I've got to admit- this chapter possibly isn't my best, but it was needed to get to the better stuff. :)  
**

* * *

"Christine Sanders. Former ." Booth handed over a thick file, topped with a pictures held by paper clips.

"She's pretty. Matches Angela's sketch." Brennan pulled said sketch from her own manilla folder, slipped it into his hands, then fingered the polariods apart. "You know her?"

"Casual acquaintance."

Christine Sanders picture didn't do her justice. The top picture showed her sitting cross-legged beneath a large willow tree. Her smile shone, and the rising sun behind the drooping branches gave her an almost heavenly glow. Her long red hair fell mid-chest, and her bright green sparkled mischievously. It took Brennan a moment to wonder how a picture could capture someone so well, but her thoughts were interrupted with a sound like gravel hitting Booth's window.

The world outside Booth's office window was far from heavenly. The heatwave continued, but clouds had formed, and it now seemed they were entering a monsoon season. Torrential rain ricocheted off the ground, and propelled off of windows.

Booth sank down into his chair, closing his eyes and letting his head fall against the rest. Brennan watched him inquisitively as she flicked through the rest of her pictures.

The rain drummed rhythmically against the window, and Booth could almost find himself drifting off.

"Is this why you were so aggravated at the crime scene? Because you knew who it was going to be?"

He cracked an eye open at her.

"Doesn't matter." He sighed.

"Yes it does." She slipped a large photo over the desk. It was Christine's F.B.I photo. She grinned towards the camera- with bright white teeth. "It matters to me." She said softly.

He smiled lopsidedly at her compassion, meeting her soft gaze.

"Her parents are on their way in. Wanna come?"

"Sure." She pushed herself up out of her seat and followed him into the bustling corridors of the Bureau.

* * *

"I found particulates in the pond." Hodgins swiped his way onto the platform.

"Doesn't surprise me." Cam chimed, examining the woman's body on the platform.

Hodgins held up a small tub filled with dirty water. A small piece of moss swirled around the bottom. He looked at it briefly.

"Fair point." He laughed.

A small lock of wet hair fell from behind Cam's ear as she straightened up to look at the tub.

"What have you got?" He asked, approaching the table, placing down the water and snapping on a new pair of gloves.

"Not much more that Dr. Brennan." She said- exasperated. "Angela's working on the picture in the locket."

"What's this?" Hodgins pointed to a small stain on the remains of the blouse. Cam wheeled over a magnifying camera. She peered at the screen.

"GSR?" She asked- to no one in particular.

"Gun shot residue? I thought there wasn't a gun shot wound-"

"There isn't."

"I'll run it through the mass spectrometer. See if we can get a brand or something." He took a small sample on a Q-Tip and placed it into a test tube.

"What else have you got?" He raised his voice to be heard as he retreated from the examination table to a monitor on the other side of the platform.

"Not much. I'm running a Tox-screen, but there's haemorrhaging around the wounds on the chest."

"So she was alive when she got kicked in. Gang work?"

Cam rolled her eyes at his turned back while Hodgins pulled a file up on his monitor.

"Not awake. Unconscious." Cam corrected.

"Says here-" He turned to face her, pointed at the screen before stuffing his hands into his pockets. "-that Christine worked on a task force, and a hit was put out on her a few months back by a gang leader." He singsonged.

"Maybe." She smirked at him "I'll take a better look at the x-rays, but I'm pretty sure that Dr. Brennan can strip the flesh now. I've got everything I can."

"She'll be happy." Hodgins chortled.

Cam peeled off her gloves, chucked them haphazardly into a waste bin.

* * *

Booth watched from a safe distance as his partner attempted to sooth and commiserate Christine Sanders' parents. He had to admit, he was touched. Over four years, she had learned quite a bit. She learned how to be gentle, less forward, and more about the heart. _His _Bones was learning fast. Goodman was damn right about that steep learning curve.

He watched as Brennan produced a pack of tissues from her lab coat, extract one, and hand it to the weeping mother. She touched the older woman's shoulder gently, and said something inaudible to Booth.

"I'll do everything I can Mrs Sanders."

"When can we bury her?" The father asked and his large green eyes left his wife, and locked onto Brennan. She could see tears welling slowly in the man's eyes, threatening to fall.

"I can't say yet Sir. I want all this to be over as quick as possible. Just like you."

"Catch the bastard that did this. Please." He was pleading.

"It's what I do best." She attempted to lighten the mood slightly, and was awarded with a small smile from both parents.

"We're glad it's you Dr. Brennan. My daughter had told us about you once- about your work with the FBI. You're a brilliant anthropologist." He clutched his wife's arm, as she leant into his shoulder.

"Thank you." She felt a swell of pride in her chest. "There's a very nice café nearby if you would like to get some coffee."

"Thank you again Dr. Brennan."

"I'll keep in touch."

* * *

Booth sighed and turned away from the group, leaning against a wall enclosing one of the computer stations.

He cursed himself for being protective.

He heard the loud click of her tall heels on the polished floor as she walked to her office. He jogged a few steps to catch up with her.

* * *

"Well that was positively heartbreaking." Brennan dumped her bag onto her sofa, followed suit by Booth's long black jacket, still speckled with rain drops. "Why did you tell me to tell them?"

"You wanted to learn to read people. That's part of the job." He tilted his head to the side, running his fingers through soaked hair.

"Yeah- read people." Her fingers flew across the keyboard as she booted up her computer. "Not tell them their daughter has been murdered and dumped in a pond surrounded by daffodils."

"Seems a strange place to bury someone." Booth said quietly, rolling up his sleeves. Brennan pulled her hair back into a straggly ponytail, and rang out excess water.

"What do you mean?" She asked.

"Just seems...weird. You know? There was a forest about half a mile away. Why not there? Less likely to be found." He perched himself onto the corner of her desk.

"The killer was most likely running on adrenaline. Logic can suffer."

"Wouldn't for you."

"Nope." She laughed.

"You're doing well. With the whole people thing."

"Thanks." She smiled softy, their eyes meeting as always. He held her smouldering gaze for as long as he could muster, before he felt the overwhelming urge that he always did. He tapped her desk lightly, and pulled his poker chip out of his pocket.

"Coffee?"

**Yeah- I'm not too proud. But please review all the same!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Thanks to crazycamera, ****crossMyheartHope2Spy, csimesser1, anatats89, TemporalBONES, mustanggirlz07 and everyone who reviewed my other chapters. Thanks for helping me stick with this!**

**Sorry it's taking so long. My exams are killing me. **

Chapter Three

Her feet pounded the sopping wet ground rhythmically, as her breathing became ragged and shallow. Beads of sweat formed at the hem of her camisole, and some trickled down her neck. Her mud splattered calves carried her far from her apartment.

She mused over what her team had told her that afternoon. Flashes of words and images crossed her mind's eye.

Gun shot residue.

No gun shot wound.

F.B.I agents.

Pond.

Daffodils.

A small gold locket.

Nothing seemed to fit right now.

Not that it ever did right right away.

She slowed slightly so she could cross a street. The street lights cast an eerie glow over the shimmering pavement, illuminating her face hauntingly. She darted unnecessarily across, behind a slow moving car. She sped up as she reached a long street, and she watched the street lights pass by, the blurry luminescence against her forearms.

Reaching a park bench, she doubled over, and glanced at her watch.

05:30

The sun was beginning to rise over the jagged horizon, casting a glow over the tall buildings. The street lights were beginning to flicker out one by one, and the inky sky was stained a dull orange. The air felt heavy, and damp. Brennan knew it was going to be another day of high humidity, sweating, frizzy hair, and most likely rain.

"I need coffee."

* * *

Brennan nudged her office door open with her hip, hands full of manilla folders, a brown bag containing two muffins, and two coffee cups, one half empty. Taking a quick sip before she put everything on her desk, she fanned out the folders.

_Christine Sanders, F.B.I_

_David Banks, F.B.I_

_Tox Screen_

_Preliminary Examination_

She sighed and flipped through the tox screen folder, and tucked the preliminary exam folder neatly under her arm. Swinging her lab coat haphazardly over her shoulder, Brennan moved out towards the platform.

"Hey Ange." She sighed, flipping a loose bit of hair over her shoulder.

"You'll like what I found." Angela waggled her eyebrows, and tapped a couple of buttons on a hand-held.

A grainy photograph appeared on a nearby monitor.

"This is what I could recover from the locket. Seems to be our victim and a guy. No positive ID on the guy yet. But he's pretty cute."

Brennan smirked. "David Banks." She recognised the handsome features. She knew she shouldn't have left that folder on her desk. "Christine's partner. Booth's talking to him today. He seems like the better person to do it." She sighed in disappointment.

"Yeah- I guess. He told me you did pretty well with her parents yesterday though." Angela recovered.

"Really?" Brennan's face lit up.

"Yeah. He's proud." Angela grinned. "You better thank him, and I can think of a few ways you can..."

Brennan rolled her eyes so far into her head that Angela wasn't sure if they would ever return back to normal.

"Yeah, yeah. Is Cam around?" She hid her embarrassed smile.

"In her office."

* * *

"What is this about gun shot residue?" Brennan trotted into the Coroner's office, to be hit by the foul stench of decomposing flesh- worse than usual.

"We found it on the victims clothes. Strange pattern. I can't find a definate direction." A disembodied voice called out.

"So she shot someone." She peered around.

"No." Cam appeared from around a corner, holding what seemed to be lungs in her hand. Brennan recoiled slightly. "Sorry about the smell. According to Hodgins, there was a fungus, camarophy... something, that is really horrible smelling. It got everywhere on the remains. You can strip the flesh when you're ready."

"Thanks." She pulled out the preliminary exam folder, and flipped through a page or two. "Can I...?" Brennan indicated to the remains.

"Sure."

"Lividity seems- odd."

"Odd?"

"Odd." She echoed once again.

The arms were naturally draped across the torso, and the neck sat at a strange angle.

"She was in a sitting position, with her neck tilted like.. this." Brennan tilted her head back, at a crooked angle. "When her blood pooled."

"You're right." Cam hid a smirk at the good doctor's current position.

"Hey Cam... Bones." Booth acknowledged the women with a raised eyebrow, and a sour look crossed his features. "What the hell?!" He gagged, covering his mouth with a hand.

"Fungus." They replied, without a second look.

"Lovely. You eaten yet?" He asked Brennan, between grimaces. "Not that you'd want to..." he trailed.

"I can't leave yet, Booth."

"I've got some information from the partner." He teased.

Snapping off her gloves, she faced him with hands on hips, her lips tugged slightly at the corners.

"Your place or mine?"

Cam muffled a snicker.

* * *

A heavy silence filled Brennan's apartment, as she sat opposite Booth at her kitchen table.

"Booth- I wish you would just tell me why you're so caught up."

"I'm not."

"You're attacking your pie."

He threw his fork onto the table, the metal clattering onto the wood, before looking at his dismembered slice of apple pie inquisitively.

"Sorry." She mumbled.

"Right- I knew them, okay? I knew Chrissie." He leant back into his chair, crossing his hands behind his head, and closing his eyes. "They were so happy. As partners. Got on so well." He scrubbed his eyes almost viciously. "David's torn to pieces." He met her large, shiny eyes over the table, dimly lit by her lamps, the space not taken up by plates, was covered in photos, files and reports.

"I'm so sorry Booth." She made a move to touch his arm, but barely reached, before her pulled away instinctively. He couldn't deal with that _right now._

So many times, he'd said 'my condolences' or 'I'm sorry for your loss'. Just then, it hit him, pretty hard that it makes no goddam difference. Simple words- no meaning behind them, even when someone who you know truly cares utters them.

"He has no alibi." Booth sighed.

"What about your gut?"

"I-" He stammered. "I... have no idea."


End file.
